Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: “I avow the principle, and think no government can subsist without it.”

On the record
I avow the principle, and think no government can subsist without it.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke asserts the importance of a governing principle for the stability of any government.

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More from Edmund Burke

Jan 1, 1790

They come from one who has been no tool of power, no flatterer of greatness, and who in his last acts does not wish to belie the tenor of his life.

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Jan 1, 1790

Our people will find employment enough for a truly patriotic, free, and independent spirit, in guarding what they possess from violation.

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Jan 1, 1790

But when the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service.

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Jan 1, 1790

They will become flatterers instead of legislators,--the instruments, not the guides of the people.

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